ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – A citizen’s tip helped officials recover 64 pounds of mercury that a man was trying to sell on Craigslist.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency says a Floodwood man found the mercury in his late grandfather’s garage, and posted an online ad to sell it for $650. A citizen who spotted the ad notified the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District, which alerted the MPCA. Within hours, the MPCA negotiated a lower price and had the mercury picked up for proper disposal. There was no contamination at the scene.

The MPCA says the seller inherited the mercury, along with some unused mining equipment, from his grandfather, who had intended to get into gold mining. It was in four sealed plastic bottles. Since the seller didn’t do anything illegal, he won’t face any penalties.

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